This invention relates generally to the field of air pressure gauges, and more particularly to a combination gas cap and digital tire pressure gauge.
Tire pressure gauges for measuring the pressure of vehicle tires are known. For many years these pressure gauges were a mechanical type in which the air pressure of the tire caused a post within the gauge to protrude outwards. The post has numerical indicators which correspond to tire pressure. Within the last twenty years a form of digital tire pressure gauge has been developed and is now common. In these devices a pressure transducer turns pressure into a voltage. The higher the pressure the greater the voltage. An electrical circuit then translates the voltage into a numerical reading which is shown on a Liquid crystal display.
Digital tire pressure gauges are generally comprised of a handle portion terminating in a pressure transducer portion. The electronics and the LCD as well as a battery are contained within the handle portion.
Although the digital tire pressure gauges available today are adequate for taking pressure readings on vehicle tires, the devices are not as easily accessable as they might be. They either are generally stored within the car or trucks glove compartment or in the vehicles trunk. In both cases the vehicle operator may have to waste valuable time in hunting for the tire pressure gauge amongst other unrelated items. This time delay may cause a vehicle operator to forego the pressure measuring activity which could then cause future accidents do to improper tire inflation.